The conservation and management of shared fish stocks: legal and economic aspects
The effective management of shared fish stocks stands as one of the great challenges towards achieving long-term sustainable fisheries. These resources account for as much as one third of world marine capture fishery harvests. This paper explores both the legal and the economic aspects of the management of each of the several different categories of shared stocks, namely transboundary, highly migratory, straddling and discrete high seas stocks. In so doing, the paper draws heavily upon the results of the October 2002 Norway-FAO Expert Consultation on the Management of Shared Fish Stocks, and in particular upon those results arising from the many case studies, from both developed and developing States, presented at the Consultation. The legal foundation for the management of these resources is seen to rest upon the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, and upon the 1995 United Nations Fish Stocks Agreement, which focuses specifically on highly migratory and straddling stocks. The Agreement came into force in 2001, and is now in the process of being implemented. The economics of the issue points to the conclusion that, with few exceptions, effective cooperation between/among States sharing a given fish stock, of any of the four categories, is a fundamental pre-requisite for the sustainable management of the resource. Non-cooperative management of shared stocks leads almost invariably to overexploitation. Experience has demonstrated that effective long run cooperation demands that cooperative resource management arrangements have the resiliency to withstand unpredictable shocks, which in turn requires that the scope for bargaining among the members of the arrangements be as broad as possible. Effective cooperation also requires the full implementation of the FAO International Plan of Action to Prevent, Deter and Eliminate Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated Fishing. This is particularly true in the case of highly migratory and straddling stocks. Finally, the paper warns that achieving effective cooperative management of discrete high seas stocks, which have hitherto received little attention, is likely to prove to be exceptionally challenging. If the challenge is not met, these resources will unquestionably remain vulnerable to overexploitation.
| Main Authors: | , , , |
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| Format: | Texto biblioteca |
| Language: | |
| Published: |
Rome (Italy) FAO
2004
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| Subjects: | FISHERY MANAGEMENT, RESOURCE MANAGEMENT, FISHERY RESOURCES, SUSTAINABILITY, International Cooperation, International agreements, Resource conservation, Overfishing, ANIMAL MIGRATION, MARINE RESOURCES, Conservation des ressources, Surpêche, Migration animale, Ressource marine, Gestion des pêches, Gestion des ressources, Ressource halieutique, Durabilité, Coopération internationale, Accord international, Conservación de los recursos, Esquilmado de pesquerías, Migración animal, Recursos marinos, Administración pesquera, Ordenación de recursos, Recursos pesqueros, Sostenibilidad, Cooperación internacional, Acuerdos internacionales, |
| Online Access: | http://www.fao.org/3/a-y5438e.pdf |
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| Summary: | The effective management of shared fish stocks stands as one of the great challenges towards achieving long-term sustainable fisheries. These resources account for as much as one third of world marine capture fishery harvests. This paper explores both the legal and the economic aspects of the management of each of the several different categories of shared stocks, namely transboundary, highly migratory, straddling and discrete high seas stocks. In so doing, the paper draws heavily upon the results of the October 2002 Norway-FAO Expert Consultation on the Management of Shared Fish Stocks, and in particular upon those results arising from the many case studies, from both developed and developing States, presented at the Consultation. The legal foundation for the management of these resources is seen to rest upon the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, and upon the 1995 United Nations Fish Stocks Agreement, which focuses specifically on highly migratory and straddling stocks. The Agreement came into force in 2001, and is now in the process of being implemented. The economics of the issue points to the conclusion that, with few exceptions, effective cooperation between/among States sharing a given fish stock, of any of the four categories, is a fundamental pre-requisite for the sustainable management of the resource. Non-cooperative management of shared stocks leads almost invariably to overexploitation. Experience has demonstrated that effective long run cooperation demands that cooperative resource management arrangements have the resiliency to withstand unpredictable shocks, which in turn requires that the scope for bargaining among the members of the arrangements be as broad as possible. Effective cooperation also requires the full implementation of the FAO International Plan of Action to Prevent, Deter and Eliminate Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated Fishing. This is particularly true in the case of highly migratory and straddling stocks. Finally, the paper warns that achieving effective cooperative management of discrete high seas stocks, which have hitherto received little attention, is likely to prove to be exceptionally challenging. If the challenge is not met, these resources will unquestionably remain vulnerable to overexploitation. |
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